Willits city finances looking rosier

Revenues are trending higher and expenditures are trending lower than budgeted, according to a mid-fiscal year financial report presented by City Finance Director Joanne Cavallari.

One main driver for the positive news on revenues was unexpected general fund revenues generated by the dissolution of the city's redevelopment agency. The city received $82,000 from the low- and moderate-income fund and a $499,000 one-time payment to settle a loan the city made to the RDA in the 1980s.

City sales tax receipts are also up by a forecasted $30,000 and hotel bed tax receipts are up slightly.

While business licenses fees are running about $13,000 less than projected, this is nearly offset by a recent surge in construction permits.

General fund expenditures are trending below budget and are projected to finish the fiscal year about $186,000 less than originally projected.

Cavallari cautioned the Willits City Council the new projections are only her best estimate. Most of the income the city receives is collected by other agencies, and the city receives most of its annual revenue late in the fiscal year. As of December 31, Cavallari says the city has received only about 26 percent of its property and sales tax revenue.

The main reason expenditures are trending lower is that two general fund positions are not yet filled, a police officer and a public works worker.

The Willits sewer enterprise fund is in a state of transition as the project wraps up, and the special fund set up to collect the costs of the new sewer plant will be closed out. Cavallari cautioned the council on the potential impact to that fund of Brooktrails' reluctance to pay its share of the last US Department of Agriculture loan. What share, if any of this $8.3 million loan Brooktrails actually owes is one of the issues currently being litigated.

The city originally budgeted Brooktrails payments at $530,000 this fiscal year, representing about 18 percent of the total sewer revenue. Brooktrails has acknowledged it is obligated to pay for all but the last $8.3 million loan.

While Cavallari projected Brooktrails payments at only $109,000 in her mid-year report, interim Brooktrails Manager Mike Phelan asserts this is not the district's actual position.